oak leaf medal

[ellenjane]

how can i find out what and why this medal was awarded to my uncle during the second world war?

[dot.haukes]

Most medals should have the service number and name of the person awarded them on the rim, this is why the oak leaf medal was awarded:
(wikipaedia)
Clasps
A single bronze oak leaf emblem is worn to signify a 'Mentioned in Despatches' and a silver oak leaf is worn to signify an award of a King's Commendation for Brave Conduct. There is no bar other than these emblems.

If you do not know the regiment your uncle served with then you will need to do some research but WW2 is not as easy as WW1, do you have any more info on him? like a photo with a cap badge or other uniform insignia?

[dot.haukes]

Is the oak leaf on the ribbon above the actual medal BTW.

[ellenjane]

it is a single bronze oak leaf he was in the royal engineers and was won in normanday 1944

[dot.haukes]

if i am correct, I think it would have been clipped to his war (Victory) medal (the ribbon anyway) and it means he was mentioned in dispatches.
the next of kin can request his service record and he will be in the medal rolls
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/prose01/Gen_Medal _Rolls.htm
I am sure there are some experts in Military campaigns in WW2 on here.

[kempie]

Although awards such as Mentioned in Despatches will form part of your uncle's service record, it is highly unlikely that the citation for any award will exist within the record.

MIDs are published in the London Gazette (or Edinburgh / Belfast edition where appropriate) so you could search for your uncle's name there for the "Mention"...

http://www.gazettes-online.co.uk/AdvancedSearc h.aspx?GeoType=London

[dot.hawkes]

hey kempie i really tried with that london gazette link and i just could not make it work!!!

[kempie]

Works for me by poking in dates (e.g. for Normandy Invasion 6 June 1944 to say 31 Aug 1944) and using "Mention" as a search term. Including a surname should whittle the results down.

[dot.hawkes]

ahhh well you're cleverer than wot i is, i was putting MID in lol